Address—Robert Boulard
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Maybe we would begin with #221.
I'm going to suggest that we sing this hymn and then perhaps halfway through, since after our lunch meal we sometimes get a little bit sleepy, maybe we can stand up halfway through. We'll sing one more short little hymn, and then we'll continue. So #221 maybe someone could raise the tune for us.
In Jesus.
That's not for what other sins?
Oh God.
Nsnoise.
Let's ask the Lord's blessing on our meeting this afternoon. Our loving God and our Father, we thank thee for the care that we've been singing of, the care of that blessed One who loved us and gave himself for us. We thank Thee that Thy care is never ceasing for thine own. And we think of the special needs of our young here this afternoon as we open up the Scriptures. We pray that thou sin thy mercy and thy kindness administered to their needs and encourage their hearts are gone and our Father to uh, cleave under the Lord with purpose of heart, and that they too.
Might know what it is to walk in communion with a Savior and we know that very shortly thou art going to come as we were reading this morning. Now will receive us unto thyself, blessed Savior, What a glorious reception that will be when we're received into the Father's house and we see the blessed Savior face to face in all of thy glory about. We long to live in the light of that truth, even as we walk through this valley of, uh, sorrow and death. And we pray that, uh, there would be fruit for the as a result of this, uh, short time together. We pray too, for our older brethren.
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That, uh, they may be encouraged and strengthened and, uh, that they might have a portion for their souls. So we just asked you for thy blessing, our God and our Father, in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
So I'd like to turn to, uh, the book of Ajax, chapter 4 just to open up my subject here this afternoon. I would like to look at the life of a man that is not often spoken of, Acts chapter 4. We're just gonna read, uh, a couple of verses in the end of the chapter. I'd like to speak, uh, this afternoon and just outline something of the life of Joshua in the Old Testament.
And uh.
Just go over some of the things, some of the lessons that he learned, some of the company that he kept. You know, he lived in the presence of a man who had a cast a great shadow upon the generation that he lived in. He lived under the Moses, uh, the shadow of Moses. You might think it was pretty hard to overcome the influence that Moses would have. Moses was used of God to write the first five books of the Bible and Moses, uh, was the one that, uh, could go up into the mount with God.
And he was used mightily of God in his generation. We know where we came from because of the writings of Moses. We know that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And we know so many things in connection with the principles of God. Well, this is the one that, uh, Joshua kept company with. He was a servant. We're gonna read about that. But I'd like to read these few verses in chapter 4 of Acts first.
Just to present the New Testament equivalent, perhaps you might say it says.
In re let's read from verse 34, Acts chapter 4, verse 34. Neither was there any among them that lacked. For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles feet, And distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And Joseph who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of Consolation, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. I just point out this in connection with the New Testament. We have different ones that were an encouragement in the day that they lived in. And young people, those of us that are a little older too. It says in the book of Romans, none of us liveth unto himself, and no man dies unto himself. We're all having an effect upon one another.
And you're either an encouragement to your brethren or you just it's a heavy heart when they mention your name. It's a heavy heart. They think, I wonder how the path is gonna turn out for this young sister. I wonder how the path is gonna turn out for this young brother. Their hearts are heavy when they think about you. I hope that's not the case. You know, this young man, I take it that he was young. His name was Joseph. And the he was such a, an exceptional young man.
It was a Levite, we're told a little bit about him came from Cyprus, so he perhaps knew the language of that place, was a Gentile place, and so he could speak the Gentile languages as well as the Hebrew language. He had a piece of land. It was perhaps you might say, hindering him from walking with God.
And he wasn't just gonna be halfway Christian, wasn't gonna be a Christianity of convenience with him. It was all or nothing.
And how often it is in your life and mine. We all have to confess that we all have to lay our hands on our hearts, don't we? There are some things that we just won't give up. We don't want to give up. We hold them too dear. And perhaps their relationships, perhaps there's something that's hindering us from giving our all to Christ. But he's worthy of it. What think he of Christ? And here we have this man, Joseph. He was such an encouragement to the apostles.
That they decided his name didn't suit him and they gave him another name. They said his name really was the Son of consolation. He was a consolation to his brethren. When they thought about Joseph, their hearts were just comforted. Oh, he comforted the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I trust this afternoon that, uh, you just see something of the person of Christ that would attract your heart and give you the desire of heart to lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us.
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And to run the with races that race with patience.
Before the Lord comes that you might run the race of Christianity. It's really from earth to heaven. That's the race. And we're almost there. We're almost at the finish line. Well, I just point this out in connection with Barnabas. He was a young man. He was used in connection with Saul of Tarsus. And I'll just turn to one other verse, chapter 21 of Acts, verse 16.
And we'll read another little portion of Scripture.
I was speaking on the phone the other day and a brother mentioned this verse and I've enjoyed it in the past.
Says in verse 16, there went also, there went with us also certain disciples of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one nation of Cyprus, an old disciple with whom we were we should lodge not nice. You know there was an old disciple there in that place that Paul went to the apostle Paul.
They were there and they, the prophets, were speaking. They came into Caesarea and they needed a place to stay. There was an old brother.
And he laid himself out for his brethren all his life.
And, uh, this is where they were going to stay at an old brother's house. They were going to have a visit. And even the apostle Paul, who wasn't Paul, called Paul the agent at that time, as we haven't Philemon, but he was going to lodge there. Who's going to learn something from that old man? Just as we read through these little portions, these little passages of Scripture in connection with Joshua and seek to learn some of these lessons ourselves this afternoon, I trust that there will be fondness.
And the memories that brought to mind in connection with our older brother and those of us that are younger, of how we enjoyed in the past, some of our older brethren and the memory of them. How often I remember, recall my own life, if you'll forgive a personal, uh, little illustration of having different ones of our older brother in my home. And as you know, I wasn't brought up in the assembly and, umm.
One of the things that I really long for when I was exercised about having a wife was would be a wife that was ex exercised about having exercising hospitality and having the Saints of the whole into the home. And we've had many of our older brother in in the home and, uh, how many little sayings, how many little expressions, how many little times that we sat down at the supper table that had the word of God open and just open up the passage of the Scripture Formula One place to another.
And just had an encouragement and encouragement and a little word of exhortation sometimes, but sometimes those little expressions that were used and the little bits of encouragement I received from my older brother. I just long I tell you from in truth is something like brother Jim wrote wrote me a letter a little while ago when my father-in-law went home to be with the Lord. He says, you know, I just like to have another half hour with brother Hammer. I just like to sit down maybe just one half hour and just visit with him a little bit. I'd love to have.
Brother Buchanan, Clem Buchanan in my home just to sit down 1/2 hour. Maybe I can't happen, but in a future day will. We're going to be in the Father's house. Well, let's turn to the book of Joshua and I'll just read.
A little passage there is introduction.
Chapter 5 I think it is.
Chapter 5.
Verse 13.
I really intended to get up early this morning and, uh, read this a little more diligently. I've been enjoying it in the past and.
You ever have a sleep and you're thinking that you're reading something in your sleep? I was reading this in my sleep and dreaming about reading this passage of Scripture in my sleep about this young man and how he had been raised up of God and oversight among the people of God. How afraid he was as he took up oversight among the people of God, and how he met the Lord one day as the host. Let's read this in chapter 5. Verse 13 came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho.
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And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him, with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him, said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come? And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot.
For the place we're on, the standest is holy. And Joshua did so well, you know the Lord met.
Moses on the mount, he met Moses and it was a burning Bush in the bro Bush wasn't consumed. He saw the Lord and the Lord presented to him as the great I am. You know, the Lord Jesus presents himself as the I am in the New Testament, in John's Gospel, I think it's chapter 18, when he stood before that crowd and that had come to seize him and he just unveiled his glory just briefly, and they fell backwards. They couldn't.
Stand before the presence of the holy God, the Son of God. But here Joshua's a man had been raised up of God to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. And he has to recognize that the people of God. There's one that defends the people of God. There's one that cares for the people of God. There's one that defends you young people that delights in your soul's welfare. There's one that has interest in every detail of your life.
No matter how small it is, the sword is grown on behalf of His people, and He loves you so much, He went to the cross to bear the judgment for your sin if you'd receive Him as Savior. I trust there's no one here that doesn't know the Lord, Jesus the Savior. But it's important, you know, as we grow in our souls, we begin to take up the responsibility, perhaps in the assembly and in our homes. Why is it necessary for us to remember that the Lord is the captain?
Of the host captain of the host of the Lord I am come and so if there's any interest that we have of the children of God, if we have any interest in being shepherds or under shepherds. Why we need to remember that the Lord Jesus himself is the captain of the Lord's host and he had something to say to Joshua. And so you know you and I, dear young people, if you pardon me from for addressing you specifically when you come into the assembly, you come into the Lord's assembly.
You come as you receive your, you received it to the Lord's table and you begin to remember the Lord Jesus and his death and you take up responsibility in the assembly. It's the Lord's assembly. He has authority there. He's the, the authority and he gathers by his spirit and the day that we live in, but there is authority and he raises up those that care for your soul. You know that, You know, it's just, uh, I'm just gonna read a couple of Old Testament passages and then maybe a couple of New Testament passages just to describe the work.
Of those that are shepherds that God raises up as shepherds in the assembly. Let's read the verse that was read to us this morning in chapter 33. I think it is of Deuteronomy.
Chapter 33 of Deuteronomy, this is towards the end of Moses life and he says in verse one, this is the blessing we're with Moses, the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And then just verse three, yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in thy hand and they sat down at my feet. Everyone shall receive of thy words. Well, you know this is.
Really why God raises up those that are shepherds in the assembly, those that desire the welfare of God's people, is because He loves his people. That's why he loves his people. There's no one that loves you more than the Lord Jesus. The Son of God, the Creator of the heavens, says in John's gospel that all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made, and so he made you.
For his own glory, it says in Revelation chapter 4, it says, I think it's verse 11, Thou art worthy, for thou is created all things, and for thy glory they are and were created. Oh, you've been created for the glory of God and the Lord cares for you. He loves you, He desires to care for you. And you know, the wonderful thing is that we're brought into the blessing of Christianity and God has given us the assembly where we might be cared for.
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And so the reason he raises up oversight in the assembly really is in connection with our care and because he loves us. And then if we turn to to first Timothy Chapter 3, I'll just mention here the why or the The Who.
Who is it that God raises up?
First Timothy chapter 3, verse one. This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of the Bishop or an overseer, maybe a shepherd, he desires a good work. A shepherd must be blameless, the husband of one wife, diligent and vigilant, sober. Well, we have this whole list and then we have a list given in Titus chapter one, almost identical. So why is it that there's two lists given in Paul's writings almost identical? Well, one has to do with these responsibility.
One sees that there's a need in connection with the Saints of God, and he puts himself out and he desires to occupy the office of oversight. And I was shepherd among the people of God, and he lays himself out for the people of God. That's what a shepherd does. He lays himself out. I'll give you a little illustration. Perhaps you've heard me speak of this before, but when I was doing business in Portugal, in Portugal years ago, I was doing business with a tool maker. And we were.
Driving along the, uh, Oceanside.
And the road is kind of carved out of the shoreline at that point and near, uh, Saint Louis, holiday Lazare in, uh, Portugal, not too far from Lisbon. And so we're driving in a little car, a little, uh, polo, a pretty quick clip and, umm, the road was carved out of the shoreline. Then there was a little bit of a bank embankment and then a plateau on the top. And then there was some shepherds we saw about a mile away.
Shepherds with a flock of sheep and goats.
And uh, just as we came within range of those shepherds and that flock of sheep, there were two sheep that ran down that steep embankment and wouldn't you know it, they stood right in the middle of the road, 2 sheep. And there were two shepherds. One was an old man. He had an old great coat, was a coat, went right down to his feet and then a young man and he's up at the top. I suppose they needed to have one stay with the sheep and 1:00 to go down after the other two.
That old man, he took off after those sheep, he ran down that embankment and he stood in the middle of the road with his arms outstretched and in front of those sheep. And you were not going to cross, not going to touch those sheep. And he came, we slammed the brakes on and came within a couple of feet of that shepherd. And that's what a shepherd does. He puts himself between US and the full. And so isn't it lovely, dear young people, that you have older brother in the assembly that care for your soul and that they're praying for you and that, uh, to have a desire of heart to.
Preserve the Saints and to engage the enemy.
Well then if we turn to, umm, first Peter Chapter 5, we find that, uh, there are those that are shepherds and Peter tells us what their work is.
First Peter chapter 5 and verse 2.
This is really their function, he says. Feed the flock or shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly.
Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither is being Lords over God's heritage, but being in samples or models to the flock. Not nice.
You know, brethren.
How we ought to thank God for older brethren in the assembly that have lived in a steady way, I don't know. There's older brethren here in the assembly and they've observed the godly life of an older brother, an older sister, just steady, steady walking through this scene and facing the enemy and facing the.
Opposition of the enemy from time to time, and they stood between US and the and the full oftentimes.
And those are their models. That's their function there to be a model, the feed to shepherd the flock of God. Well, you'll notice that Peter was given that responsibility in John's Gospel, chapter 21. I'm not gonna read it, but we're gonna turn now to, uh, Exodus. I'd like to turn to Exodus chapter 17. And we're gonna read the introduction to.
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Joshua.
And learn some lessons as to how he spent time in the presence of Moses and the instruction that Moses gave him. I will say this, that just as you're turning to it, I've enjoyed John's Gospel lately in a rather unique little way. Maybe you have as well, but there's little expressions that the Lord Jesus uses all through John's Gospel. And there are three word expressions. Maybe you've noticed some of them the first time that the Lord Jesus speaks in John's Gospels, chapter one.
He says what seek ye?
And then they said master where dweller style.
And he speaks three other words. He says come and see.
And then in chapter 21, he speaks of, umm, he speaks to Peter and he says, uh, shepherd my sheep.
Feed my sheep, feed my lambs. You know what the last thing is? That the Lord Jesus tells his disciples in John's Gospel. The last three words that he speaks in the Gospels entirely themselves. He says, follow thou me.
Isn't that nice? But see, key, we're all looking for something here this afternoon. You're looking for happiness. Perhaps you're looking for a partner in life. Perhaps you just, uh, crying out to the Lord. You finish your education. You just desire to have a, a, some work that would be suitable. The line of things that, uh, you have, uh, being trained for all the Lord's interested in all of those things and he has his hand open. His heart is for you. His heart is 100% for you. Well, let's look at umm.
Exodus chapter 17 Here it says, verse 8 Then came Amalek and fought with Israel, and referred him. And Moses said unto Joshua, chooses out men, and go out fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with this rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses and Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill and came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed.
And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat there on, and Aaron and her stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the chil in the years of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Well, you know, the first instruction that was given to Joshua as we're introduced, I believe this is the first time that he's mentioned in Scripture.
Moses has to tell him, you know, as a young man you're going to have to pick up the sword and fight against that which speaks of the flesh. You remember when in those little test, those Old Testament stories that David when he went to fight Goliath, he had to lay aside the armor, Saul's armor. He couldn't use it. Saul was a man of the flesh. Every idea that he had appealed to the man of the flesh. He, he didn't go to to the Jehovah for any instructions. He just had it all.
He he wanted to do things a certain way and but you know, God has created this young people to be dependent. God has created us, doesn't matter what age we are, He's created us as dependent creatures.
You know, I was listening to brother Norman Berry and remember him in my youth. Another brother that I visited with in my youth was a help to me.
He had this little expression. He said, umm, when you got saved, you gave up your right to choose. You ever hear him say that when you got saved, you gave up your right to choose?
It was the Lord you desired to have your sins forgiven and you switched sides. You became a believer and you desired to live and allow someone else to make choices for you. Well Joshua, I had to come to this realization that all that is in the flesh, Paul said all that is in the flesh, all is in Mia, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And the Lord Jesus said 4 words, the flesh profiteth nothing.
So it doesn't matter all the, uh, fleshly energy that we have and all the ideas that we have, all we need to pass them by the throne of grace. And the Lord knows that there's going to be a battle, a spiritual battle in our lives, all of our lives. And that's why it says here that, umm, in the last verse of this chapter, it says, for he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
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So the first lesson that Joshua had to learn in the presence of this great man, Moses.
Really a type of crisis on high, seated on the mountain and he's interceding for us. The Lord Jesus is interceding for us as we battle with the flesh. One day after another we battle with the flesh and we seek to live for the Lord. Let's just sing stand up and let's sing one more little hymn.
How about 309?
Somebody raised the tune 309.
10-4, 10-4, 10-4, 580130183801800000000008.
Exodus chapter 24.
Verse 12.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there, and I will give the tables of stone, and a law and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua should really be attendant. Attendant Joshua and Moses went up to the mountain God. And he said unto the elders, Tear ye here for us, until we come again unto you. And behold, Aaron and her are with you. If any man have any matters to do, let them come unto them.
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Well, I just wanted to read this little passage of scripture because.
There was a young man going with an old man, an older man. We know that Moses was 120 years old when he died. He was 40 years educated as an Egyptian, looked like an Egyptian, dressed like an Egyptian.
Spoke like an Egyptian. Thought like an Egyptian.
And then he met the Lord.
On In the Wilderness, we know that he was 40 years in the wilderness learning to be nothing. So he's learning to be something in Egypt.
And then he was learning that he was nothing because Albert Hale used to tell us that we're just a bunch of zeros, every one of us. Well, I think of that so often. We're just a bunch of zeros and except for the number one out in front would be nothing, be worthless for all eternity. But you have some worth for holy God because of that man Christ Jesus who loved you and wants to make something of your life. And so this younger man went up with the young man.
And he had a precious.
Experience. We know that they had all kinds of experiences. We know that the Lord had given these tables of stone to Moses, wrote on them with the finger of God, and he also gave them instructions in chapter 25 and verse 8 says, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them, really a consecrated place, a place where it was suitable for the Lord to meet among us with His people. And in the French translation, I don't have it here with me. It may be the same in other translations.
It's really translated that I may dwell in the midst of them. Not nice. Oh, the Lord delights to dwell in the midst of His people. And according to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, Even so shall you make it. And they shall make an arc of **** and wood. And then a little bit further on in verse 22. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim.
Which are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which I will give thee in commandment under the children of Israel. Well, at the point I want to make here there young people, is that there are mountaintop experiences and Christianity, you know, is a mountain top experience.
To walk in communion with the Lord Jesus, the crater, and not only the Creator, but the Son of God, and to be brought into relationship with the Father. To be able to address God as your Father and to recognize that you are every need He already knows and His desires for your fellowship. In this scene, if the Lord doesn't have your fellowship, if he doesn't have communion with you, if he hasn't won your heart, He doesn't have what he wants.
He doesn't want the, uh, best of the, this world has, you know, the blessed Savior is quoted, I think, uh, perhaps even today that he had umm, the birds of the air have nests. The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests. The Son of man hath not where to lay his head. He had nothing. You know what he wants in this world? He wants you. He wants to enjoy fellowship with you. And so he's provided a place. Really, it's the assembly where we meet collectively, but he desires to have.
Fellowship with you individually as well. And so here he says I will meet with the and Joshua was going to have the privilege of being with Moses up on that mountain top. And then if you turn a little bit further on.
Into I believe it's chapter 34 of Exodus, we find that Moses.
And Joshua are going to witness something of the.
Failure among God's people.
I should say maybe it's chapter 32. Just back up a little bit.
And verse 15 Moses turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand, and the tables were written on both their sides, and on the one side, and on the other side were written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome.
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But the noises of them that sing, do I hear? Well, the point I have in reading this, uh, little passage here is that Moses had discernment that Joshua didn't have. Moses had experience. You know what? Your older brother and have young people, those of us that aren't all that young, your older brother have experience. They have something that takes years to acquire.
And they face situations year after year. They've faced some difficult situations that you don't remember, that some that took place before you were born. And they know how the enemy is at work, and they've seen different things. Well, Moses could discern that this was not the shout of warfare or of singing. He says it's the voice of them. It's not the voice of them that shout for mastery. Neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome, but the noise of them that sing. Do I hear?
Idolatry had come in among the people of God. There was failure among the people of God, and Moses was made aware of it. He was.
He had discernment. Oh, I value this in connection with my older brother and discernment and their desire to talk about, talk over different situations that take place in the assembly and, uh, give a little perspective from experience and a little word of wisdom in connection with those things that take place, but in connection with life as well.
Can I give you another little personal experience?
So we had a little business we were running in Hammer Bay for years, uh, about 10 years, a little manufacturing business. Brother Gordon Hale used to come to my home very often when he was an older man and his wife. And sometimes they would come for the Lord's Day morning and then they were too tired to drive back 20 minutes to go back to their own home. And, uh, so we would have them for the meal and then they would lie down for a rest before the 3:00 meeting, But in between we would have a nice visit over a meal.
And sometimes there were different business issues that, uh, I didn't really have a lot of discernment about. I don't know how much business experience Gordon had, but I did value his perspective on things. And so I spoke with him about one of the situations that we were facing. He said, well, let's go down to the office. So we went down to the office and this dear old man.
Kneel down on a chair by by me. And we poured out his heart and asked the Lord to give discernment for a particular matter that had arisen in the business that threatened the profitability of the business.
Hey, earnestly, that the Lord would just reveal the matter and it was revealed.
Not more than a couple of days later.
When there was a phone call that came into my wife and the matter was made known, the Lord answered his prayer, but he had some advice for me on that occasion as we knelt on our knees. And then was, we sat and, uh, we discussed something in connection with business, not really even in connection with the things of God on that occasion. Well, I just wanna say this. It'll make a difference to your life, young people and uh, even young marriage, if you, uh, take into consideration the wisdom and the experience of your older brother and the discernment that they have, the wisdom of the experience of years and you talk to them about this different situations that they face.
And, uh, the one that you're facing and you see godly advice, I will say this, there's a brother in Cuyahoga Falls, a beloved brother. He's, uh.
Young man, uh, he's a young, not young, but he came into the assembly when he was young. He was a Vietnam vet and saved in Vietnam.
Make a Long story short. He came to be gathered to the Lord's name and he said, you know Robert.
Anytime I was a young person and I, I wanted to do something and I knew I, I really should get some advice and I my conscience told me wasn't maybe quite right or anything. He says there were a few brothers that I could go to. He said I could go to brother A and I pretty well knew one answer I was going to get. And then if I went to another brother, brother B, and he said I asked the same question, I pretty well knew I would get a scriptural answer.
So sometimes he says a temptation overtook me. I would go and see brother A and I get the answer that I wanted to hear and he give me the answer that I wanted to hear. But then my conscience just wouldn't let me away with it. I just had to go and see brother B And brother B would open up the passage of Scripture, an older brother and he'd say, well brother, and he'd open up the passage of Scripture and he just tell it like it is. He'd say, my heart would melt and I just have to go and obey the Lord in that particular matter. Oh that wonderful to have our older brother and to go to.
00:45:10
And to seek advice. I just want to encourage you in that way. You have a line of work that you think a line of schooling that you want to go into line of work. Umm, something you, perhaps you're interested in a young lady, a young lady, perhaps a young man is asked to you to go out with you and so on. Speak with your parents, trust the experience of the years. And uh, Brother Gordon, if I could quote him again, you'd forgive me for quoting. He said he never, ever saw a marriage.
Take place that in which the parents disagreed and didn't agree, didn't approve of it. He never saw one of them turn out right, turn out well.
Oh, what a solemn thing it is not to have the blessing of your parents in connection with those relationships of life. Well, if we turn over another page or so here, Chapter 33.
Verse 11.
Let's read verse 10 for the connection.
Exodus 33, verse 11.
Her Verse 10 I'm sorry. All the people saw the cloudy pillars stand at the Tabernacle door, And all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses, face to face, or mouth to mouth, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp. But his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the Tabernacle.
Department.
You know, there's only two people in the scriptures that I know of. Maybe if you know of another one, you could come and see me. I'd love to to know if there's others, but there's only two people that it says they departed not.
One in the Old Testament and one in the Old in the New Testament, and this one in the Old Testament is a young man. The Spirit of God records. Joshua had seen something of the glory of Jehovah in that Tabernacle, and he hadn't the light of Christianity like you have. He didn't have a full revelation of the Godhead. He didn't know of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He wasn't indwelled with the Spirit of God.
If you know the Lord Jesus as Savior, you know the Father, you know the character of the Father, the love of the Father, you know the Son, you know the love of the Son, you know how much you mean to him. He gave his life to have you for himself. And you are indwelled with the Spirit of God. You have a power to live the divine life. And so Joshua didn't have those advantages, but you know, he saw something of the glory of Christ and uh, he didn't want to depart out of that Tabernacle.
He wanted to be there.
Moses had responsibility as an older man, he had to go back into the camp and exercise his responsibility. Joshua didn't have that degree of responsibility at the same time, and so he stayed in the Tabernacle and he enjoyed the presence of the Lord. I just want to say this, dear young people, you have a lot of time on your hands. You have, I think his brother Clarence London used to say that you have 24 hours in a day, you have 8 hours, you need to be sleeping or resting. You have 8 hours of responsibility, maybe school or work or something like that, and then you have 8 hours of discretionary time. What are you doing with those eight hours of discretionary time?
You know where Joshua was. He was in the Tabernacle. He wanted to enjoy the presence of the Lord for himself.
Oh, I hope that you enjoy going in to be in the presence of the Lord. You know, when I was, uh.
Living in Michigan, I had a lot of responsibility and I was tired. One night I had an older brother come over, a single brother, His wife was going to be with the Lord. We had him over to our home on a meeting night and I was beat. I was dead beat tired. I'd had a hard, hard day. We had the meal and I said Brother Bob, I said, I don't think I have the energy to go to meeting tonight.
He looked at me with a shocked expression. He said brother.
Let's phrase it a different way. You don't have the energy to go to be in the presence of the Lord tonight at the assembly meeting.
I said, well, I think I could summon up the energy to go to be in the presence of the Lord this evening to the assembly meeting.
Oh, he taught me a valuable lesson.
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I trust you, younger ones that have your homes. You're setting up a home that you invite those older brethren into your home, you're gonna get a blessing you'll never forget.
You'll never forget, and perhaps they'll never forget.
I could tell you time and time again, one experience after another, little lessons I've learned that way. But Joshua, you know, he had to spend time. He could send, spend it selfishly. He could fritter away his time on a cell phone. He didn't have a cell phone, but maybe a chalkboard and a slate. I don't know. But we're frittering away our time, just frittering it away on Facebook and everything else. I just forgive me for giving a personal.
Illustration. But I do everything I can not to turn my cell phone on in the morning, not to look at an e-mail, nothing.
Until I spent an hour in the presence of the Lord.
So that he gets the 1St place, Does he get the first place in your life? This was a lesson that Joshua had to learn as a young man. And you have time as young people to spend time in the word. I trust that you do.
Well, let's just turn over to the Book of Numbers, Chapter 11.
Numbers Chapter 11. Let's uh, read the verse from verse 24.
Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the 70 men of the elders of the people and set them round about the Tabernacle, and the Lord came down in a cloud.
And speak unto him, and talk of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the 70 elders. And it came to pass, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and did not cease. But there remained two of the men in the camp. The name of the one was Eldad, the name of the other me Dad. And the Spirit rested upon them, and they were of them that were written, But they went not, they went not out onto the Tabernacle, and they prophesied in the camp.
And there ran a young man and told Moses and said, Eldad and me, Dad, do prophecy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, or the attendant of Moses, one of his young men answered and said, My Lord, Moses forbid them. Moses said unto them unto him, envious thou for my sake would God, that all the people, Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them. And Moses got him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. Now if we just hold our place there and turned the Mark's gospel, I think it's Chapter 9, we have a very similar experience.
Yes, verse 38, Mark nine and verse 38 John answered him saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he falleth not us, and we forbade him because he followed not us. But Jesus said forbid him not for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is not is on our part. Well, I just read these couple of passages of Scripture because this is another lesson that.
This young man, Joshua needed to learn and that is that he wasn't to interfere in the work of God that was going on in the camp. And you know that there were these two men held dad and me dad, and they were, umm, prophesying in the camp. They hadn't the same exercise perhaps as Joshua did to be there at the Tabernacle. And so they prophesied in the camp. It just speaks to us of those that are not a part of our company in type and, uh, they.
Are perhaps.
Among so-called open brethren, or perhaps they're in the church systems and so on, and there's a work of God going on in those places. Let's not interfere with them. And but it doesn't say to join up with them either. And so they were in the Lord's day. He could say to John, that's all right, just let them do their work. Was there a work of God going on? I thank God there was.
You forgive my personal.
A little illustration as a 13 year old boy when we came out of that, uh, division that we were in.
I thank God during those first thirteen years that I was brought to reading meetings and I learned something of the truth of God. I learned something of the hymns that came. There was a a breaking of bread man that went out in division. He's he set up a table. It was a nice table with a white cloth and a loaf and all that kind of stuff. We use the same hymn book, the same Bible didn't make it right. It was an imitation of the truth of God wasn't right, but God desires to bless his people.
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And he will bless his people. He's sovereign. And I say my soul was blessed. I was fed in my soul by the grace of God. And I was saved as a boy in that system, that imitation of what the Lord's table really is. Oh, I thank God for it. Well, here we have this lesson as young people, we need to learn this. We need to learn it early on is to let the work go on that the Lord is allowing. You know, if it was left up to the gospel, was left up to those that were gathered to the Lord's name alone.
It would be a feeble, feeble work, but how we can rejoice that the gospel of the grace of God and the in as much clarity as it goes forth does go forth. And any measure of truth that, uh, different ones give out, we can be thankful for. And so here Moses, as this older man in Joshua's life, gave him this lesson that he never forgot. No doubt. Well, we're, that's just, umm, press on here.
Perhaps, umm.
I don't have a lot of time, so let's, uh, look at uh.
I'd like to look at a place where perhaps there was a little bit of intercession for the people of God in connection with the Moses chapter 14 and verse 13.
Numbers chapter 14, verse 13.
Well, let's read verse 11.
And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? How long will it be yet ere yet they believe me? For all the signs which I have showed among them, I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make thee of the greater nation and mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, For thou brought us up this people in thy might from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou art the Lord.
Among this people and thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them by daytime, in a pillar in the cloud, and in the pillar of fire by night. Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of the will speak, saying, because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swear to them. Therefore how he slain them in the wilderness. Now I beseech thee, let the power.
Of my Lord, be great according as thou hast spoken, saying the Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving the iniquity and transgression, by no means clearing the guilty. Let's read umm, verse 20. The Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word. You know, I just read this little passage of Scripture, young people, because I want to just say this, that your old brethren do have failings and they'll all agree we're all failing creatures.
But there is a desire I can say truthfully.
On the part of our older brother, to see that you were blessed in your soul, that you have a food for your soul at these meetings, that you're encouraged, that you're strengthened and that you receive some instruction that will give you a little, umm, bit of energy, encouragement to go forth in the path of faith. But you know one of the things that characterizes your older brethren and they're interceding for you. They're interceding for the people of God as they.
See the failures of the people of God. They're not criticized, criticizing their brethren. You don't find this in connection with Moses. The Lord said, you know, just leave him alone. They've tempted me these times. They're they're always rebellious. It's over. Moses says, oh Lord, bless the people. He says forgive them. He says forgive them. It's the Spirit of Christ. Father, forgive them for they know not what to do. Oh, how nice it is to see younger brethren praying for the older brother and to hear the older brethren praying.
For the younger brethren, and as we see that there's failure among us, that there's a desire for restoration.
You know, I don't have the time here, but if we looked at chapter one of Joshua, we find the he was going to put.
Moses was going to had died. The Lord says in chapter one of Joshua that Moses my servant is dead in verse 2.
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And it takes no less than three times that the Lord says to Moses, to Joshua personally, he says be strong and of good courage. And then once and last of the chapter verse 18, people say only be good strong and of a good courage. And so Joshua was afraid when those older brother were gone.
He was afraid to take up the work of separating the people of God and to take up the responsibility that was his. He was afraid, but the Lord himself encouraged them three times, and the people themselves encouraged him. And So what a privilege it is for us to labor together and to desire the blessing of God's people together.
And to walk and fellowship and communion one with another, older ones with the younger ones, That there might be fruit for God.
In the assembly, let's just commend ourselves. Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee for thy love and grace. We thank Thee for these passages of Scripture that remind us of how.
These younger ones were trained and how they desired the fellowship of their older brethren and how there was really training and strengthening of a future generation to come up and to enter into the responsibility in the congregation of the Lord. So we pray that thou bless our younger.
Brethren here, young brothers, young sisters, and as they begin to take up responsibility that there would be a desire to, umm, walk in fellowship with those that, uh, have uh, going on in the path of faith for many years. So we ask the blessed, thy people encouraged thy Saints here, We ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.